Forgotten Truth
by panda-cat69
Summary: Ever since Cou found a mysterious stone after the battle at Edel Garden, he's been having weird dreams and voices keep echoing in his head. Protect. But protect what? Now he's on the road with Ren to find out. Along with Rowen, Cisqua, and Kuea, they'll discover the mystery of Cou's past and his connection to Edel Raids, humans, and Orga Night. A/N: Continuation of manga
1. Chapter 1

**I loved Elemental Gelade, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending of the manga, so I decided to make my own continuation. I've had this idea for a while, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. I have quite a lot of stories going on, so please don't expect very fast updates. Hope you like it ;D Please read the manga first. I don't reference the anime because I haven't watched it. I didn't like how they changed Cou's character in it. He just wasn't Cou to me :( He made Ren sad in the FIRST EPISDOE, when in the manga he was all forgiving and so nice. I love Cou and Ren so much. I hope I don't butcher their characters o_O**

**Disclaimer: Mayumi Azuma owns Elemental Gelade, not me. I wish I even had one eighth of her drawing talent! I love her artwork so much. **

* * *

"Mom?" a little boy called as he neared a church, pushing the large door open with his little arms.

"Mom?" he called again, peeking inside. Soft light streamed in from the many winds and shined on a woman kneeling in front of an altar in prayer. Her long blonde hair caught the light and shimmered, cascading down her back.

"Mom!"

She turned around as the little boy ran to her, her clear blue eyes shimmering as her angelic face pulled into a smile.

"My little boy," she cooed, stroking his head. "Your hair is as cheerful as ever. Just like your fathers."

"I'm not a little kid," he pouted, crossing his little arms.

"Of course not," she chuckled, pulling him into her lap. "What do you need?"

"Dad wanted me to get you."

"Then we shouldn't keep him waiting." She smoothed the skirts of her white dress as she stood and extended her hand to her son. The little boy took it and followed her out the church doors.

"What were you doing, ma?" he asked with curious eyes, the same shade has his mothers.

"I was praying."

"Why?"

She just smiled down at him. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"Okay," he said. He didn't like the troubled look on her face.

"Hey!" a voice called and the boy forgot about his mother's expression. He let go of her hand and ran across the grass to the man with spikey blond-brown hair and warm brown eyes.

"Dad!" They both laughed as the man picked him up and spun him around.

"Good job on finding your mother," he congratulated him.

"She was hiding in the church." He missed the look his parents shared when his father set him down.

"We've been called to a meeting," his father informed his wife. Her angelic face turned grave and she nodded.

"Can I come?" the boy asked. His father nodded and turned to his wife, laying a hand on her cheek.

"You'll feel better, won't you." She gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his. The boy mad a face which his father caught. He chuckled as he knelt to his height.

"You'll think differently when you find someone to love."

"But I love you and mom," he objected.

"And we love you too," his mother said, taking his hand. "One day you will find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with."

"Isn't it too early to have this discussion?" his father asked, scratching his chin in thought.

"There's no time like the present," she argued. He pondered it a bit and nodded in agreement.

"You're right. You always were wiser than me."

"Someone has to make sure you don't do anything rash."

"I'm not rash," he objected.

"Dad's hotheaded," the little boy piped up. "Aunt Cecia keeps telling me so. She tells me not to grow up and be hotheaded like you."

"What is that woman putting in your head," he mumbled, arms crossed. "I'll have to talk to her about the stuff she puts in your head."

"Now, now," she soothed her husband. "Xephren won't be very happy with the way you speak to his wife. As the village head, he could order you to do mundane tasks."

"Fine," he conceded, taking the little boys hand. "He knows how I hate those."

"Much better," she happily said, kissing his cheek. "We mustn't be late now."

"Yes, yes," he sighed and they slowly started walking down the path.

"Now listen to me," she instructed her little boy. "One day you will find your soul mate and when you do, you make sure you protect her."

"What's that?"

"Your other half," his father said. "She will be the person you're destined to be with."

His parents laughed at his confused expression as they headed towards a large mansion made of stone.

"Do not worry. That is far in the future" she laughed. "You will know when you find her."

"And when you find her, protect her with your life," his father advised. "It's a man's job to protect those he loves."

"I will," the boy said with a determined face.

The man beamed with pride and ruffled his son's head. "That's my son!"

"Dear, we're here."

"Ah, we are. Don't get lost," he warned his son as they entered. The mansion was large and well lit, with artworks and flowers decorating the walls and tables. Loud voices were heard behind the door they neared.

"Stay in there and behave," he instructed his son, gesturing to a room across the one his parents were about to enter. The boy obeyed and trotted over to it. The man nodded in approval and disappeared into the meeting room with his wife. The room suddenly quieted when they entered and turned into hushed whispers. The boy kept glancing at the meeting room, and curiosity got the better of him. Glancing around, he tiptoed to the door and pressed his ear against it.

The voices were muffled and he could barely make out the words.

"Danger…"

"…moving…. border…."

"Can't… leaving…"

"Forces… Night… fight…"

He frowned in confusion. Night? What were they talking about? It was bright outside.

"It's clear what we must do," the clear voice of Cecia said. "We can't waste any time."

A few cries of protest were heard before a loud bang was heard, causing the boy to jump in fright.

"This isn't the time to be worried about honor and image!" the booming voice of Xephren shouted. "We are clearly out numbered. Think about the children. If they are to perish, who will carry on our duty?"

"Our duty is sacred and extremely important," his father added. "Who else will protect them when they seek refuge?"

"Many of us know how they must feel," his mother added. "We cannot sacrifice ourselves needlessly. We can regroup and strengthen ourselves so we can fight back one day." Many female voices agreed through the other side.

"Then it's decided," Xephren concluded. The boy could hear them getting up and almost collided with a breathless villager as he tried to flee.

"Headman!" the villager cried, bursting into the room. "They're here!"

"Dammit!" Xephren cursed.

"Evacuate the village! Get ready for battle!" he ordered. The people scrambled out of the room and narrowly missed the boy.

"Come!" his mother cried, gathering him into her arms and dashed out of the building with his father. They gasped at the scene they saw. The trees where burning, the sound of battle drifted over, and debris flew everywhere as the invaders moved steadily forward.

"Over there!" a bunch of cloaked figures shouted, pointing at them.

"Damn," his father swore, unsheathing his sword. He slashed in the air and an arc of flames flew towards the invaders.

"Gwah!" they cried as they were blown back.

"Go!" he shouted, dragging his wife and child with him.

A villager stumbled towards them, blood gushing from his wounds. "We're surrounded. All the exits have been blocked. Many of the invaders have Edel Raids with them."

His father swore and reached out to help the man. He shook his head as he swayed. "It's too late for me, but get your little boy out of here. I pray you make it out."

The little boy watched in horror as he slumped to the ground, glassy eyes staring vacantly ahead. His mother quickly buried his head in her chest and continued running.

"Where do we go?" his father growled in frustration.

"I know a place," his mother panted. "I prepared it for the worst case scenario, but only he will make it."

The little boy was too stunned by the death of the village man and the destruction to process her words. His parents nodded and took off in the direction of the church. They burst through the doors and his father forced him to look at him.

"I love you. Never forget that," he said, kissing his forehead before pulling away. He kissed his wife and embraced them both as she wept.

"I'll hold them off," he said before leaving, boarding the door behind him.

"Dad!" the boy cried as his mother carried him towards the altar. "Mom, stop! Dad's out there!"

"Your father will be fine," she said shakily, carrying the squirming child towards a statue of a woman holding a green stone in her hands. With shaky hands she placed her hand at the base and pressed a secret switch. The stone wall opened, revealing a little bottle and an ornament with paper seals on it.

"Put this on," she instructed the boy, quickly handing it to him. The boy obeyed as tears poured down his face.

"What are you doing?" he sniffed as she opened the bottle.

"Drink it, quickly," she said urgently. "Once I know you're save I will go help your father."

"Then you'll both be fine, right? You and dad are a super strong team."

"Yes," she said sadly, stroking his head as he drank the liquid.

"I hope you remember nothing of what happened here," she whispered. "I want you to grow up strong, healthy, and kind like your father. I'm so sorry for all the hardships you will go through."

"Mom, why are you crying? You'll come back for me, won't you?"

"Of course," she sobbed, holding him tight. "I want you to take a nap now."

"But I'm not sleepy. There's a bunch of bad guys out there."

"I know. Beware of them. Beware of Orga Night," she warned him, almost pleading. He nodded, holding his tears in.

"Good boy," she said, tears falling. "I love you Coud Van Giruet."

The seals suddenly activated and tightened around him. He stared at his mother with wide, panicked eyes but couldn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry you won't fall asleep immediately," she apologized. "Don't worry. When you're older they'll have no effect on you. Sleep now my little boy, and I pray you'll find happiness." She gently placed him inside the stone base of the statue and closed it. Light streamed in from the cracks, and he could make out his mother quickly running away. The building shook as something hit the doors and crashed through. The altar was smashed to pieces as someone flew into the statue.

"Gah!" his father gasped in pain, rising from the debris. He could hear the sound of footsteps thundering inside and the scream of his mother.

"Let her go!" his father roared, and Cou could only watch from a somewhat large crack as a cloaked man placed a sword at her throat.

"Don't move," he warned. His father clenched his fists and stayed where he was. More men grabbed his father, forcing him to kneel with swords aimed at his throat.

"It's your fault you know," the man stated, dragging his mother over to his father.

"It's such a waste, but orders are orders." Cou wanted to scream as the man ran his mother through with his sword.

"I love…you," she whispered before falling to the ground. Tears streamed down both son and father's faces.

"No!" he shouted before coughing up blood. He clutched his chest as blood started seeping into his clothes, right where his mother had been stabbed. Tears streamed down Cou's face as he could only watch. His consciousness was dimming as the seal took effect.

His father staggered towards his wife before falling, his hand on top of hers.

"You brought it upon yourselves," the cloaked man stated, his voice full of disdain as he looked at his parents.

"You're quite a nuisance even without your Edel Raids. But, it's so easy to kill both of you. All we need to do is kill one of you and the other follows. Efficient, but wasteful."

Cou couldn't hear anything anymore as his eyes grew heavy. He tried willing himself to stay awake, but the seal kept dragging him down. His eyes finally closed as the slaughter continued, the destruction continued, and his tears kept falling.

* * *

"Mm?" he mumbled drowsily, blinking against the light. He looked around blearily and lifted an arm to rub his eyes, feeling something crumble against his hands. Half of whatever stone thing was in front of him was gone and he could hear birds singing on the other side. With a grunt, he pushed the other half away and crawled out of his stone confinement. He stood unsteadily on his feet and looked around. All he saw was grass and trees around him. He looked back at where he came from and saw a rusted, dull looking statue of a woman who held nothing in her hands. Crouching back in front of its base, he looked inside and found nothing inside. His shoulders felt weird and he found a weird ornament draped over them. He threw it off with its dirty scraps of paper.

"Where am I?" he wondered out loud.

"Who… am I?" He scratched his head in confusion. Who was he and why was he here? He sneezed, causing a bunch of dust to fall off him. Sniffling, he took his jacket off and shook the dust out. Something on the inside of his jacket caught his eye. _Coud Van Giruet_ was written on the collar.

"I'm… Coud," he tested. It sounded alright. With one last look around and finding nothing but wildlife, he walked aimlessly. After days of walking, he finally reached a rundown looking town. His feet were sore, his clothes were torn and filthy, and he was starving.

"Hey," he called to someone nearby.

"What?" the large man slurred, taking a swig of his bottle as he lay on a dirty blanket on the filthy street.

"Do you have something I can eat?"

"Not a charity, brat. Go steal something for yourself."

"Steal?"

"Yeah. Just swipe something from the counter before they catch ya and you got yourself a free meal. Make sure you run like hell," he cackled.

"Do you know who I am?" Cou asked.

"How the hell would I know that?" he slurred grumpily. He leaned in with a grin, making Cou back away. "But I'll tell ya what. I know what you are."

"You do?" he asked, a spark of hope rising.

"Yeah. You're like the rest of us," he said, gesturing to the other filthy and hard looking men lying on the streets. "Good for nothing thrown away trash."

"I'm not trash," Cou snapped.

"You better accept it, brat," the man advised. "You're just an orphan. Parents probably abandoned you along the way because you're such a cocky little brat."

Cou stomped away angrily as the man continued to laugh behind him. That couldn't be true… could it? The sun started setting and a dog barked nearby. He glanced around nervously as a lot more scary people were walking around. He ducked into an alley and found a ratty blanket lying on the ground. Cou shivered as he wrapped it around himself and curled against some boxes. He closed his eyes and tried to block out everything; his empty belly, the cold, and the sounds.

Tears streamed down his face and he couldn't figure out why when he felt so empty.


	2. Chapter 2

"Damn that stupid Cou!" Cisqua growled angrily. "I'm going to beat him black and blue for putting us on this wild goose chase!"

"Now now boss," Rowen said soothingly. "All that matters is that they're okay, right?"

"Yeah," Kuea agreed as she stuffed more food into her mouth. "Mm, this donut is delicious!"

"Then I'll beat him for making us worry," she huffed. "He's probably dragging Ren around with him too!"

"So what do we do now?" Kuea asked.

"We find them of course!"

"Our methods haven't been really working," Rowen pointed out. "Asking around doesn't seem to work."

"Yeah, but it's the best we have," Cisqua sighed. It's been months since they left headquarters to find Cou and Red and they still haven't made any progress. A blob of red with spikey blonde hair caught her eye. A girl was with him and seemed to look a lot like Ren.

"Cisqua?" Rowen called in surprise as she dashed towards them.

"Stop!" she shouted, grabbing their shoulders. They turned around with confused looks.

"What?" the girl with the red jacket and blonde hair asked, and with a chest three sizes bigger than Cisqua's.

"You need something?" the other girl asked, who looked nothing like Ren.

"S-sorry! I mistook you for someone else," she laughed nervously.

"Okay?" they said, looking confused as they walked away.

"Cisqua!" Rowen called as they caught up with her. She just sighed and slumped to the ground with her head hanged.

"Is there some kind of ugly red jacket trend?!" she suddenly shouted angrily. "I swear I'll beat that idiot for making me go through all this trouble!"

Rowen cowered back as Cisqua laughed evilly with a malicious gleam in her eyes.

"Hey," Kuea said suddenly. "I could be wrong, but don't they look like them?"

"You're imagining things."

"Boss, take a look," Rowen urged her, tugging her along.

"Fine," she mumbled and looked in the direction he was pointing. They did look a lot like Ren and Cou… She froze when the boy turned to the girl and laughed, giving her a perfect view of his face.

"It's them!" she cried, pointing. "Catch them!"

They were about to run towards them when a bunch of motor cycles drove past them, cutting them off.

"They're getting away!" she cried as the motor cycles finally left. She took a step forward when a bunch of cops marched in front and cut them off.

"Cisqua, they're leaving!" Rowen shouted, peeking above the heads.

"Move back!" the cops shouted. "We ask you all move back as we try capturing the motor cycle gang!"

"Cisqua-"Rowen started before cutting himself off as he looked at her. A dark and murderous aura seemed to emanate from her and he cowered back.

"Why?" she asked. "Why can't anything go right?!"

"Aaahh!" people screamed as missiles flew everywhere.

"Terrorists! Run!" the cops shouted.

"Boss!" Rowen cried, dragging the still fuming Cisqua with him as they ran.

"We've lost them now," Rowen sighed.

"After finally finding them!" Cisqua cried, rolling around in frustration.

"They couldn't have gone too far," Kuea said, scanning the area. "Should we split up?"

"Sure," Cisqua sighed, brushing her clothes off. "Let's-"

"Boss?" Rowen asked when she didn't continue.

"It's them!" she shouted, pointing to the forest that bordered the town. They disappeared behind a tree out of her view.

"After them!"

"All this exercise is making me hungry," Kuea whined as her stomach growled.

"We'll have Cou treat you when we catch him," Cisqua said. "It's the least he could do. How could he be so inconsiderate?! He should've known we'd worry!"

"What if he didn't want us to know?" Rowen asked suddenly. "Maybe he has his own reasons."

"He can explain it to us when we catch him," Kuea said. They heard voices as they neared and slowed down, creeping forward.

"Hide!" Cisqua ordered in a whisper.

"Why are we hiding?"

"You got me curious. Shh!" she shushed them as their voices wafted over.

"Did you find it?" Ren asked.

Cou shook his head. "No. It's not here either."

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, looking at him in concern.

"I'm fine," he said cheerily. "My wounds healed a long time ago." Ren didn't buy it and continued probing him with her eyes.

"I'm fine. I just haven't been able to sleep lately."

"Do you want to sleep in my bed again?"

"Yeah, I think it'd help-" Cou shivered as he felt a murderous aura behind him.

"Cou!" Cisqua growled as she stood.

"C-Cisqua!" he yelped as she tackled him to the ground.

"What have you done to Ren," she said darkly, aiming the business end of her gun at his face. _She's really going to kill me this time,_ Cou thought fearfully.

"C-Cisqua!" Rowen cried. "We just found them! You can't kill him!"

"Didn't you hear what he said?" she shouted, thrashing as Rowen yanked her off.

"Let's get some answers first, okay?" Kuea tried soothing her.

"Cisqua," Ren said, finally getting her to stop swinging her gun around. "Please don't kill Cou."

"He didn't do anything to you, right?" Kuea asked quickly before Cisqua freaked out again.

Ren shook her head and walked over to Cou to help him up.

"I thought I was gonna die," Cou sighed in relief as Cisqua finally put her gun away. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"What are we doing here?!" she shouted angrily as she stomped. "I could ask you the same thing!"

"We were worried about you of course," Kuea stated. "The last time we saw you, both of you were falling."

"We've been searching for you for a while now," Rowen added. "Why didn't you contact us?"

"None of your business," Cou said.

"None of our business?! Do you know how much trouble you caused us?!"

"I didn't ask you to!" Cou shouted back, his eyes looking a bit unfocused.

"Are you okay?" Rowen asked as Cou started swaying a bit.

"I'm… fine…" ROwen caught him before he fell to the ground.

"What should we do boss?"

Cisqua sighed. "He's such a trouble maker."

* * *

"How can he take care of Ren?" Cisqua grumbled as they ate in the hotel Ren and Cou had been staying in.

"Why do you think he fainted like that?" Kuea wondered around a mouth full of food.

"I don't know," Rowen said, rising. "I'm going to go take their food to them."

"We'll come too. Maybe he's awake by now," Cisqua said, dragging Kuea along.

"Wait! I wanted to eat more!"

Rowen lifted his hand to knock and heard a pained groan on the other side.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, opening the door.

"Don't come in!" Ren quickly said as the door swung open. Cou was lying in her lap with a pained expression, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

"Is he okay?"

"Please don't. Cou will attack you."

"Please, what can he do?" Cisqua scoffed, shouldering past Rowen and stepped inside. She suddenly found herself flat on her back on the floor. She froze as Cou placed his hook against her throat. Cisqua shivered at the cold look in his eyes, and the murderous intent in them.

"Cou!" Ren cried, running towards him. "Stop! It's Cisqua!"

"Cis…qua…" he said slowly and slowly got off her. He swayed on his feet and dropped his hook.

"Protect…" he whispered before collapsing again.

"Cou…" Ren knelt by him and placed his head in her lap, his expression peaceful now.

"Ren," Kuea said. "I think you need to do some explaining."

* * *

"How long has he been like this?" Rowen asked once they were all seated at a table.

"Since Edel Garden," she said quietly. "He's only like this once in a while."

"Do you know why?" Kuea asked. Ren shook her head.

"Just great," Cisqua sighed. "The idiot's made another mess again."

"So what are you both doing?"

Ren was silent for a moment. "I can't tell you."

"Why?" Ren just stubbornly remained silent.

"I'm guessing it's because of Cou," Kuea guessed, earning a small nod.

"He made you promise to keep it a secret?"

Ren shook her head. "I don't know if he wants you to know."

They all just sighed. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up."

"Ask who?" a voice said, and they turned to find Cou walking down the stairs.

"Sit down," Cisqua ordered. Cou slowly slid into the seat beside Ren.

"What happened, Cou?" Rowen asked.

"It's a long story," he sighed.

"We have time," Kuea said, taking a bite of her pie.

"Well," he began. "Ren saved us when we fell. You saw the video, right? We were hurt, so we went to recover. The lady who was working there was in to stones and collected a bunch. One day I was looking through them and saw one that caught my eye."

"He bumped into the shelves and almost dropped it," Ren clarified.

"You don't need to tell them that!" Cou said in embarrassment before clearing his throat. "So I found this stone. It seemed like just a regular stone, but for some reason I couldn't help staring at it. The lady let me keep it after."

He took out the stone and passed it to them. It was round, black, smooth and shiny, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary about it.

"It looks just like a regular stone to me," Cisqua said, passing it to Rowen. He studied it and flipped it over in his hand.

"There's a marking on it." The three leaned in to study it. It seemed to be some sort of symbol.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know," Cou said, taking the stone back. He seemed to completely zone out as he stared at it.

"I was there when he found it," Ren said quietly. "I thought he wasn't feeling well."

"I don't know why I cried, Ren," he said, as if he forgot the other three were there. "The lady said the energy of the stone was calling to me or something. I'm not sure if she's right, but I feel like I've seen it before."

"Why did you faint?" Cisqua interrupted, snapping him out of his daze. Cou shoved the stone back in his pocket and looked at them.

"Ever since I found the stone, I've been getting these weird dreams."

"You don't have to tell them," Ren said to Cou with a worried look. He held her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Its fine, Ren. Plus, I think they'll be tagging along again."

"You got that right," Kuea laughed.

"All this searching would have been wasted if we didn't," Cisqua added.

Cou exhaled and his brows furrowed as he recalled his dreams. "There are bits and pieces and I forget most of it when I wake up. I remember blood," he whispered.

"I keep hearing screams and the sounds of fighting. Someone's talking to me but I can't hear their words. Everything becomes silent and I can't move but one word keeps repeating in my head. _Protect. Protect_, but I don't know who or what it is I'm supposed to protect. It doesn't make any sense."

"So you've been trying to figure out what it is?"

"Basically," Cou said.

"You're not just dragging Ren around are you?"

"No, I wanted to go," Ren said.

"Then all's good," Kuea said with a grin.

"Do you have any leads?" Rowen asked.

"No, but I think it's tied to these stones. It's all I've got."

"Charging in aimlessly again," Cisqua sighed with a 'What can you do?' attitude.

"Am not!" Cou shouted. "It's not like you weren't running around without leads!"

"You two are so similar," Rowen said. Cou and Cisqua whipped angry looks at him.

"We are not!"


End file.
